An indifference as to the choice between options; one thing is as good as another.
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It's all one to me
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I learned over 50 years ago in school that "beyond the pale" referred to the "line" or boundary the Roman army set up between British and Scottish regions at the time of…
A mojo hand is a charm to make a special woman love you. In the song he is going down to Louisiana to get him a mojo hand. So he is living in Chicago and goes down south because…
I wonder if Murgatroyd is a purposeful mispronunciation of purgatory... heavens to purgatory... Hmmmm...
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From the Phrase Finder Digest
- Four Christmas Phrases Everyone Repeats Have A Documented Paper Trail
Shops start playing carols and stacking tins of biscuits weeks before December even arrives, which makes Christmas the longest-running seasonal hook of the year. The phrases that travel with it, from a bishop's 1534 letter to a 1977 political jibe, have a better paper trail than most people assume.
21 October 2026
- Old Soldiers Never Die: The Song Behind The Saying
Remembrance Sunday brings out a handful of phrases we repeat without thinking about where they came from. Two are older than any war fought in living memory, and one has a history most people get wrong.
14 October 2026
Based on Google Books usage over the last ~25 years. Refreshes each build.
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- MeaningA backhanded complimentA remark that appears to praise someone but contains a hidden insult or criticism.
- MeaningA fig leafSomething used to disguise or cover up a shameful, embarrassing or awkward fact rather than genuinely deal with it.
- MeaningGrey matterA person's intelligence, brainpower or capacity for thought.
- MeaningA sweet toothA strong liking for sweet foods such as sugar, cakes and sweets.
- MeaningA zero-sum gameA situation in which one side's gain is matched exactly by another side's loss, so the total gained and lost across everyone involved comes to nothing.
- MeaningAn open bookSomeone or something whose thoughts, feelings or details are so easy to read or discover that nothing is hidden.
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Phrases.org.uk has been documenting the meaning and origin of phrases, sayings and idioms since 1997. Every entry is researched and written by Gary Martin, with citations to the earliest printed use we can find.
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